AbbVie’s telisotuzumab vedotin (Teliso-V) was recently granted FDA Breakthrough Designation for use in patients with advanced or metastatic EGFR wild-type non-squamous NSCLC whose cancer has advanced or progressed after being treated with platinum-based therapy. The designation is based on the Phase 2 LUMINOSITY Trial (Study M14-239). Teliso-V is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting c-MET that is linked to monomethyl auriastatin E (MMAE) as a monotherapy in the second- or third-line setting. Currently, no therapies specifically target c-MET overexpressing NSCLC.
The treatment is being administered in two additional studies. In the Phase 1 Study (MN14-237), Teliso-V is being administered with osimertinib to patients with NSCLC with c-MET overexpression that have been previously treated. In the Phase 3 TeliMet NSCLC001 (Study M18-868) Trial, the drug is used as a monotherapy in NSCLC patients with c-MET overexpression that have been previously treated. Some of the data from these studies is expected to be presented at conferences this year.
Studies have shown that 57% of Asian American women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked. The Female Asian Never Smokers (FANS) study looks at possible causes of lung cancer including secondhand smoke, genetics, and cultural factors. Eligible participants include Asian American females (with and without lung cancer) between the ages of 21-90 who have never smoked and live in the greater San Francisco Bay area.
Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, MPH, and Iona Cheng, PhD, MPH are epidemiologists who study disparities through genetics, lifestyle factors, neighborhood characteristics, environment, and income related to cancer risk. Both are professors with the University of California – San Francisco Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, and have served as ad-hoc reviewers for the LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer.
In the video below, Drs. Gomez and Cheng discuss the general impact of disparities in lung cancer care and specifically, disparities in FANS populations.
To learn more:
DREAM Lab (Disparities Research: Environment And oMics)
A team member’s passing underlines the study’s importance
Dr. Patricia (Trish) Hom, MD, MPH, an integral member of the FANS Study team and Community Advisory Board, died of lung cancer on Dec. 27, 2021 at the age of 40.
Dr. Trish Hom
She shared her story with LCRF a few months before she passed away.
Dr. Hom was a surgical resident when she noticed she had a cough. “My junior resident had a cough too, or she had a cold, so I just brushed it off: ‘I have a cold, too.’ But her cough went away.” As the senior resident, she decided to power through it. “It got worse and worse, but I just was like, oh, I have asthma. I have allergies, whatever.” Although she had learned about lung cancer in medical school, she didn’t relate it to her own symptoms.
Three days after graduating from her OB-GYN residency, Dr. Hom was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). She was 35 years old, never smoked, and had no family history of any type of cancer. In the four years after diagnosis, she suffered three progressions and at multiple times lost all function.
“I really think that we have to find out what risk factors are associated in our Asian American population, especially the women, because nobody knows,” she said. “Even if you have a cough – if you’re like, coughing for six months – you just brush it off because you’re healthy, you’re young.”
“And as a doctor, you know, it could happen to anyone. I had no idea. I’m an OB-GYN. My friends who were in residency didn’t know anything.”
Dr. Hom pointed out that the screening guidelines don’t include people like her. “We have to be made aware that if you have these kind of problems, it could be cognitive problems because of brain mets or shoulder pain from bone mets,” she said. “I think it’s very necessary for data from the FANS study and other studies like it to figure out what people are experiencing that are correlated with their lung cancer diagnosis.”
Read more about Dr. Hom in this profile by Cancer Health.
Eugene Manley, Jr., PhD, LCRF’s Director of Scientific Programs, compiled the following list of FDA drug approvals for lung cancer treatment taking place in 2021. The associated companion diagnostics have been included where applicable. “Companion diagnostics are devices, tests, or imaging tools that provide information essential to the use of the therapeutic product,” Dr. Manley explained. “In general, they are associated with detecting mutations and are necessary for optimally selecting treatment for patients.”
Tepotinib (Tepmetko®; Merck KGaA/EMD Serono) approved for MET exon 14 skipping metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); given orally
Trial: phase 2 VISION
Feb 22
Cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo®; Regeneron and Sanofi) approved for advanced NSCLC (locally advanced, not resection candidates or definitive chemoradiation or metastatic), with high PD-L1 expression with no EGFR, ALK, or ROS1 aberrations; monoclonal antibody given intravenously
Trial: phase 3 EMPOWER – Lung 1
March 3
Lorlatinib (Lorbrena®; Pfizer) approved for ALK+ metastatic NSCLC not receiving prior systemic therapy for metastatic disease; given orally
Trial: phase 3 study B7461006
Companion diagnostic: Ventana ALK (D5F3) CDx Assay (Ventana Medical Systems)
May 21
Amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant®; Janssen Biotech) approved for EGFR exon 20+ locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC progressing on or after platinum-based chemo; bispecific EGFR and MET antibody given intravenously
Mobocertinib (Exkivity®; Takeda) approved for EGFR exon 20 insertion+ locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with progression on or after platinum-based chemo; given orally
Trial: phase 1/2 Study 101
Companion diagnostic: Oncomine Dx Target Test (Life Technologies Corporation)
Oct 15
Atezolizumab (Tecentriq®; Genentech) approved as adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemo for patients with stage II to IIIA NSCLC with PD-L1 > 1% on tumor cells
Trial: phase 3 Impower010
Companion diagnostic: Ventana PD-L1 (SP263 Assay) (Ventana Medical Systems)
Dr. Roy Herbst, LCRF Scientific Advisory Board member, spoke with OncLive recently about the progress made in 2021 in lung cancer treatment. He also noted the need for more research to address acquired resistance.
The latest class of LCRF grant recipients includes several investigators whose projects are aimed at understanding and solving acquired resistance to targeted therapy. LCRF remains committed to funding science that addresses unmet need in lung cancer research, providing hope for people with a lung cancer diagnosis. #Research is our #TrueNorth.
Dr. David Spigel, Chief Scientific Officer for Sarah Cannon Research Institute, was our guest for the December 13, 2021 #TogetherSeparately Lung Cancer Community Talk. Watch the recording below.
An amazing human, accomplished surgeon and humble lung cancer hero.
That’s how Dave Bjork, a lung cancer survivor and The Research Evangelist, described Brendon Stiles, MD, when he nominated Dr. Stiles as a CURE® Lung Cancer Hero.
Every year, CURE presents its readers with an opportunity to nominate an outstanding individual working to end the stigma and make a difference in the lives of those affected by lung cancer. Nominees were highlighted on CURE‘s website as well a downloadable booklet.
Dr. Stiles is Vice Chair of LCRF’s Board of Directors and previously served as chair. He has generously given of his time and talent for over a decade.
“There is something special about him, and you know it when you see it,” Bjork said in his nomination. “Good guy, nice person, smart, brilliant, kind, thoughtful, compassionate, eager to help, generous — all of the qualities that make him an amazing clinician and lung cancer hero.”
Rhonda Martin passed away on January 9, 2023 from complications caused by Stage 4 lung cancer.
By Rhonda Martin | November 2021
I was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2018. Specifically, non-small cell adenocarcinoma, Stage 4, with metastasis to my brain, spine, bone (hip), and lymph nodes.
After my diagnosis, I had whole brain radiation. Then I had one round of immunotherapy while awaiting biopsy results which confirmed EGFR positive mutation. At that point, I was switched to this little magic pill called osimertinib (Tagrisso) that I take daily. In early 2020, I needed another round of radiation; this time to my midhilar lymph node. In July 2021, I doubled my Tagrisso daily dose due to metastasis of active cancer cells in my cerebral spinal fluid – a condition called leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.
My challenges, until very recently, have been very minimal. I responded well to treatment and have not altered anything in my life. I continued to “live my life” by doing all things I love: long walks, hiking, kayaking, baking, and travel.
My husband has been my greatest support from day one. He has attended every single appointment and has taken on house duties when I couldn’t. He constantly ensures my comfort, and his love and encouragement has been unwavering. He simply is my rock and I could not imagine this journey without him.
Besides my husband, my biggest assets on this lung cancer journey have been my faith, my positive attitude, my determination to live, and my incredible family and friends.
My birthday is November 11, so I started a birthday fundraiser for the Lung Cancer Research Foundation through Facebook. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month, so when I saw LCRF’s Lunges for Lung Cancer Challenge I decided to be part of that effort as well. I’m proud to have raised over $1,250 for research!
If you have been diagnosed with lung cancer, I know from experience how frightened you must be. Your diagnosis isn’t necessarily a death sentence as it was just 15 years ago. Medicine has significantly advanced, and people are living much longer and with fewer complications than ever. Most importantly, stay positive and live your life; don’t let cancer define you.
Loretta Erhunmwunsee, MD, thoracic surgeon with City of Hope, accepts the 2021 William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research from LCRF. Dr. Erhunmwunsee received a 2021 LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer.
